Music mogul Diddy’s legacy in limbo after sexual assault allegations
Hip-hop and entertainment mogul Diddy’s legacy is in question following an onslaught of lawsuits and allegations.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with two new sex crimes charges by federal prosecutors.
In the third superseding indictment, filed Thursday in the Southern District of New York, federal prosecutors charged the embattled music mogul with two additional charges: one count of sex trafficking and one count of transportation to engage in prostitution of “Victim-2.” Federal investigators claim that Combs’ behavior took place from 2021 to 2024.
Combs’ federal sex crimes trial is set to begin May 5 in Manhattan, where he was originally indicted after a pair of federal raids that targeted him as the subject of a sex trafficking investigation.
Previously, Combs was charged with one count each of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution following his September arrest at a New York hotel. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Combs currently faces two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering. His upcoming trial is scheduled to begin May 5.
The trial comes almost one year to the day after a bombshell CNN video surfaced May 17, 2024, featuring hotel footage of Combs physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. He later apologized. On Nov. 16, 2023, Ventura filed a sex trafficking and sexual assault lawsuit against Combs in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The exes settled the civil suit one day later for an undisclosed amount.
But dozens of other civil cases have mounted for Combs in recent months, too. The music mogul has been the subject of lawsuits alleging rape, sexual assault or inappropriate sexual behavior.
Last month, Combs shocked courtroom attendees with a grizzled new look at a pretrial conference. The graying music mogul appeared in court during the conference in front of U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian at Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan. At the hearing, his attorneys disputed various aspects of the disgraced rapper’s trial – including jury selection, submitted evidence and the trial’s court timeline.
This story is developing.
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, Edward Segarra, Patrick Ryan, KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
